Jeremy Clarkson and second wife Frances to divorce

Jeremy Clarkson and his wife are getting divorced after 21 years of marriage, it has been reported.

Frances Clarkson, 52, who works as her husband's manager, has reportedly filed for divorce from the 54-year-old Top Gear star.

Jeremy's first wife, Alex Hall, told the Daily Telegraph that the current Mrs Clarkson 'deserves every penny' of any settlement. He is estimated to have a fortune of £30 million.

Alex said: "She's done her penance. It is her hard work that has made him into the idol he is today.

"Jeremy is the frontman, but behind the scenes she was the swan paddling frantically beneath the surface. So she deserves every penny she gets - she's worked for it."

It was reported that Mrs Clarkson has recently been on holiday to Majorca with a female friend to toast the end of her marriage.

Jeremy's spokesman and his wife both declined to comment on the reports, the Telegraph said.

The BBC presenter was embroiled in controversy last week when it was claimed he used the N-word while reciting the nursery rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny Moe during filming of BBC2's Top Gear.

The Daily Mirror saw unaired footage of him using the nursery rhyme to compare two sports cars and claims the word 'n*****' can be heard.

Jeremy said he 'mumbled where the offensive word would normally occur' in two takes, and used the word 'teacher' in its place in a third recording

 

Press Association

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.